Go Social: Set up Your Own Blog

In a previous blog “Sharing Isn’t Caring” we covered the necessity for sales people to create their own content – releasing their thoughts and views into the business universe. This simple act will set you apart from your peers and allow you to connect with buyers in a way that is both meaningful and conversational. Buyers would rather talk to you once they know your views and you’ve established some level of knowledge about a particular subject matter. Let’s face it, doing this over a cold call or blind e-mail isn’t quite the same and just can’t compare.

Listen up sales professionals; here are some practical tips on how you can start creating your own content.

Write a Blog

It’s such a great medium to express your thoughts. Now, I know some of your companies may not allow sales reps to write blogs on the corporate site, but have you considered starting your own?

Incidentally, if you use Hootsuite, you can integrate your Wordpress blog to it. This means you can manage engagement right from Hootsuite.

Build your Own Customized Blog

Something to consider: do you plan on taking your own personal brand as a sales professional with you if you ever leave your company? Chances are you’ve answered “yes”. Then have you considered building a legacy and digital trail of your thoughts? A custom blog can allow you to do just that.

Register Your Own Domain

By custom blog I mean having your own domain name. It’s really easy. Head over to www.namecheap.com (sorry, GoDaddy fans) and register your own domain name. It costs about $10/year and if you search on Google, you’ll find promo codes like this all the time. Try and get a .com domain – they’re just more well-known and more memorable.

Pick a Look & Feel @ ThemeForest

Remember, if you choose Wordpress as your blogging platform, you’ll be able to integrate that into Hootsuite easily. Next, see if you like any blog themes at WordPress. If not, try a website like Theme Forest to buy a ready-made blogging theme for $10-$40.

Find a Web Developer @ oDesk

Once you’ve done this, you can easily find a website developer to set up the whole blog for you at a site like www.oDesk.com or www.Freelancer.com. You have many different filters to choose from to fit your requirements. But without getting too complicated, you can set up your own blog for about $100 (or less).

Real Life Example

Check out this great blog by Ben LaFlamme. Ben is an Account Executive @ Element Fleet Management and he’s taking his brand seriously. He’s set up a blog where he publishes his own thoughts on his industry. Talk about a great way to get noticed. Ben’s goal is to be able to demonstrate to his future buyers that he has a firm grasp of issues in his industry. Ben registered a domain name and found an offshore contractor to build his blog for around $100.

How many Account Executives in the Fleet Management space are doing what Ben is doing? Chances are, zero. Ben has instantly created a way to differentiate himself by making it easier to stand out in a sea of noise.

Ben now has tangible assets to share – these vignettes can be shared with future buyers to demonstrate expertise/knowledge, awareness, and more.

The Bottom Line

Remember, your brand will live with you for the rest of your professional life. It’s important you have a medium to express your thoughts that’s independent of your company yet inclusive of your professional efforts.

This is a simple way that social selling can help set you apart from your competitors. And more importantly, it allows your buyers to see that you’re capable and have a grasp over the inner workings of your industry.

Need some help in getting a blog started or in discussing social selling? Feel free to contact me to get your questions answered. Remember, social selling isn’t difficult, it’s just different.

To learn more about Social Selling check out 10 Steps to Becoming a Social Selling Machine or 9 Steps to a Winning LinkedIn Profile for Sales Professionals. For tips, tricks and more rants, we could always set-up a time to chat using my below schedule ...